As if the implementation of traffic cameras, EZ Pass scanners and 'smart' cars which can pinpoint your exact location at any given time wasn't enough for big brother to have the edge, one town in South Georgia decided to go 'old school' and simply lie about tickets it handed out.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety suspended the city of Lenox's speed detection permits for 180 days in July. Located on I-75, about three hours south of Atlanta, Lenox altered speeding citations to “unsafe driving,” skirting a state law capping revenue from speeding fines at 35% of a police budget.
An audit revealed nearly 40% of Lenox’s budget came from these fines last year.
An investigation found that the city “consistently altered” tickets that “had the effect of excluding the fines and forfeitures for citations issued for speeding", according to a report from Atlanta News First.
DPS Commissioner Col. William Hitchens stated that while Lenox has been altering tickets for years, it only surpassed the 35% revenue cap in 2023. An audit revealed the city initially reported $477,685 from speeding fines, but after adjusting for altered citations, the total rose to $514,456—a $36,771 difference.
The Atlanta News First report says that Lenox relied on police-generated revenue more than any other city in Georgia, collecting $1.3 million—73% of its budget—from fines and forfeitures in 2022.
Neither Mayor Henry Baker nor Police Chief Shane Daughtrey responded to requests for comment. During a DPS hearing, Daughtrey apologized, calling the issue an "honest mistake." Investigators disputed this, noting 85% of the police budget came from fines and that nearly all speeding tickets were issued on I-75, not city streets.
The DPS investigator said: “That tells me there’s not a whole lot of enforcement going on other than the interstate.”
Charlie Johnson, who was ticketed by Lenox Police, commented: “It’s an abuse of power. I felt very abused, taken advantage of.”
